i tried to ford the river, but my oxen died

After a particularly rainy week, it became decidedly warm and not rainy out. So my friend Keith and I decided we had been indoors long enough and drove up to Mt Hood (our local volcano) and attempted to go hiking.

We planned everything except for the where on the mountain we were going part. After a gorgeous drive out, we started ascending the mountain, but failed to find a suitable trail head. Pressing on we quickly found ourselves high above the timber line. There *is* something fun about snow at the end of April.

The snow on the side of the road was higher than the car itself, so it got to the point where there was no possibility of getting out. We thought about heading back down the mountain and trying again, but decided to stop at Timberline to see if they had any maps we could snag.

Timberline, as you may know, was the exterior of The Overlook in The Shining (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timberline_Lodge). Yeah, Oregon’s famous like that.  However, as with most movies, or Cheers, very little of what you remember from the movie actually exists at the lodge. Like the hedge maze. Sadly that was fabricated.

Anyway, we got out of the car in our shorts and realized how warm it was, even that far up, so instead of driving about we decided to start walking up into the snow.  We didn’t climb that high up the mountain, but trudging the the snow is tiresome.  Thankfully the snow was packed so as to be mostly solid as opposed to 12 foot snow drifts.

The novelty of walking in the snow in shorts and tee-shirts not lost to us, we snapped a few photos.  Sadly, the jPhone not being a real camera, couldn’t compensate for the glare of the sun off the snow and as I guesseed, all my photos turned blue.  Keith had a real camera and snapped a few that turned out much better.  I’ve linked to the photos at the bottom.  I think I removed most of the ones I took as the blue tint is rather annoying.

We only stayed in the snow for about an hour before getting back to the car, and it wasn’t what we had planned, but it was still a rather fun day as a result.  And I know I definitely got snowburned as a result; my face was quite red when I got home.

We have talk of bringing a tarp next time and putting a blanket down and having a picnic in the snow.  Ah Oregon, how I love thee.  OH! And today is Star Wars Day!  May the 4th be with you!

Timberline Lodge

Tags: friends, hiking, jPhone, mt hood, photos, weather
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Well, I’m back. Have been for a little over a week now. Rome was a great break from the reality of not having a job. Chris and I saw tons, some I hadn’t seen before, some revisited. We also at mass quantities of gelato and pizza. Pizza by the weight. By far the best idea ever. I have pictures on the Internet. I’m still debating whether to link to them or not. It’s almost entirely old churches and ruins with no captions. But I’m afraid if I wait until I do label them, it’ll never happen.

So right now i’m sitting by the Salmon Street foutain, typing this on my jPhone watching the Williamette. It’s a beautiful day (after many rainy) and I’m just enjoying it.

I’ve been job searching, but nothing looks promising. Thankfully, I have unemployment this time. And a nice bit of saving. So I’m not hurting. While I really don’t want to deplete my savings, I’m also not pressured to jump at the first job I find out of desperation. That’s somewhat comforting.

In the meantime I’ve been doing a lot of knitting. I’m making a sweater just in time for summer, but it’s coming along a lot quicker than I anticipated. This past Saturday I went to the Gorge to hike only to find it rainly only there and only while hiking. Those photos I’ll post.

So there that is. Here’s to a quick end to the Great Recession.

Tags: coffee, downtown, falls, friends, geek, gorge, jPhone, knitting, photos, unemployed, walking, weather
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I thought the fact that it snowed last week to be of note. It remained peculiar all week and the snow all but disappeared by Friday. They talked of some more snow over the weekend.

I didn’t take them seriously. I’ve also been wearing the same pair of clothes since Friday as a result.

By Saturday morning there was already a good amount of snow on the ground. We were over at Chris’s parents, making the annual 50 dozen cookies (no exaggeration) and it was a good day for snow. Saturday night, very few people were on the roads. I went with Chris’s dad to pick him up from work in their 4×4, and while we had to drive slowly, it wasn’t bad.

The next morning went from Chris’s back to his parents’ to finish making the cookies. Now the roads were getting bad. Yet it kept snowing.

Keep in mind this is a city that has about five plows just in case we get that odd inch or two. When we get the fourteen inches that we did, they’re in over their heads. Most of the busses have shut down, and the roads are barely plowed, if at all. I’ve heard downtown is a little better, but that hardly helps all the way out in Mt Tabor.

It’s funny that one of the reasons I moved to pdx was because it almost never snows here. Now they’re not sure when it’ll stop. It’s not coming down heavy, just very steady. And it doesn’t help that I also don’t own the appropriate clothing for the snow. Assuming I can get downtown in the next day or so I’m going to try to take advantage of the sale at REI. We’ll see how that works out.

I’ve thrown in two photos. The night time photo was taken Saturday night. The daytime photo was taken this morning. It’s probably hard to see much as they were taken through the front window, but trust me. Mondo snow.

Okay, enough complaining about the snow. It’s a few days to Christmas, maybe it’ll be white this year. I’m pretty sure my package won’t make it to my parents’ house on time. But that could be because I haven’t mailed it yet. Oh well.

Be safe and warm!

Tags: downtown, holiday, jPhone, knitting, mt tabor, pdx, photos, weather, work
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It’s snowing in Portland…

I know it looks like just a dusting, but that’s because it really is. It’s also a big deal for the area and drivers get petrified of it. Which makes them idiots because they still drive in it.

I, however, don’t have a vehicle and so have no option of going anywhere. What’s worse is that I really don’t have suitable shoes for wandering out and about in it. And I so do love a good wander.

All joking about the weather aside, it is supposed to be in the teens/twenties for a good portion of the week, so the snow we get will be sticking around for a bit. That should make commuting tomorrow fun.

I’m still without an Internet provider, so I’m writing all this from my phone, lovely thing. I had plans to do some errands, but that’s unlikely in today’s weather. And as I write this ambulance are screaming past. Silky people. Anyway, I’ll likely be sitting about knitting last minute gifts, trying desperately to get them out before the big day.

So until next time, be well!

Tags: jPhone, knitting, pdx, photos, weather, work
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So if nothing else, the weather is usually fairly predictable here.  In winter it never stops raining.  In summer, it almost never rains and gets really hot maybe four days a year.

This morning it’s actually raining.  And it’s calling for rain all week.  While I usually like the rain, and it is true that I did just the other day say I missed the rain, I definitely do not like commuting in it.

When I lived downtown, it was only a 15 minute walk, and I usually managed to stay pretty dry.  Now it’s a 40 minute walk from the other side of the river.  Or a 10 minute bike ride (which I only recently started doing… Oh yeah, I may have forgotten to mention I bought a bike).  Biking in the rain during rush hour = not fun.  I am definitely taking the bus this winter.

But on a happer note, only three days until Suz y Q arrive to take pdx by storm! Huzzah!

Tags: bike, friends, pdx, walking, weather, work
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There are a number of cool things to do in Portland that locals don’t often get to.  You know how it is, you drive past it every now and again and think “I really should go see that.” But inevitably you never do.  There’s a museum in Milford that has the flag that cradled Lincoln’s head after he was shot.  We all knew that.  Everyone in Milford knows that.  But it wasn’t until the end of High School, having taken the bus past it daily, that I finally decided to visit.  It’s just how these things go.

At any rate, the Pittock Mansion is, I would wager, one of those places.  Every Portlander knows about it.  The ones who have lived her longer may have even visited it back in the day.  But it’s not a place one just goes to out of the blue.  And then we forget how cool it is.

Last night was Open Door night at the Pittock.  While I’m still shakey (read: know almost nothing) on its history, suffice it to say that it’s a big ole’ mansion on top a great big hill.  Kinda like Grey Towers.  Except with a better view.  And yesterday was one of those “hot” days in Portland.  I put quotes around it because it’s like summer in the east coast, minus the humidity and condensed into four days spread throughout the warmer months.  So it’s tolerable.  Except Portlanders are wusses when it comes to weather

Anyway, being that the mansion is high up in the West Hills, it was significantly cooler.  So my friend Kimmet, her boyfriend Bryan and I decided to stop at Whole Foods on the way up and grab some delicious food for a picnic dinner on the lawn.  It was a gorgeous night, and so much better than sweating in our respective apartments.  As it got darker, the somewhat-full moon rose over the city and Mt Hood was on fire from the setting sun.  It was excellent.

The jPhone is good for a great many things, but its camera is sometimes lacking. Even still, the photos didn’t turn out too poorly.  I do wish I could crop some of them in magnify what’s left, but the resolution isn’t that great.  Okay, enough rambling.  The five or six pictures that I actually kept in all their technological glory:

Pittock Mansion

Tags: friends, jPhone, mt hood, pdx, photos, weather
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So I’m loving vacation. It wasn’t until I started relaxing that I
realized how much I needed this, what with all those crazy hours
worked and then moving.
Anyhoo, I’ve had quite my share of sunrises over the ocean having
lived on the East Coast most of my life. But today… today I got to
witness my first sunset over the Pacific. And I was actually able to
see it. Usually the fog rolls in and blocks it from view. Not today
though. Yeah!
So anyway, that’s my quick iPhone update after day one.

Tags: coast, pacific ocean, photos, weather
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What a rare mood I’m in.

So I’m almost entirely in my new place.  And I love the southeast.  Far superior to downtown, and so much quieter!  Walking to the grocery store the other day down tree-lined streets I realised yet again why this is called Rose City.  Aside from the crazy variety of plants people had growing in their front gardens and along the road, there were rose bushes everywhere.  The whole neighbourhood smelled so nice.  And I’m not usually one for roses.

And then today I found out that Suz y Q are coming out to visit next month!  Could this day get any better?  I won’t say no!

Cheers!

Post Script, the weather here is gorgeous.  The total lack of humidity (and apparent lack of snow) is enough to ensure that I never move eastward again.  Sorry friends.  But there’s plenty of room out here!

“Come…. Join Us….” he said eyes wide, in a deep droning tone, not unlike something you’d see on a bad made for tv movie depicting cults.  The only thing missing was the crazy spinning pinwheel overlayed on his eyes.

Tags: downtown, friends, moving, southeast, weather
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